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Human Rights Commission Focuses On Access To Clean Water
Access to safe drinking water will be the subject of a hearing Friday by an international human rights commission in Washington, D.C. Among the participants are representatives from the Navajo Nation.
Red Water Pond Road is Navajo village located in near three Superfund sites contaminated by radioactive waste left over from abandoned uranium mines. Edith Hood, a village leader, will testify before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to say residents are unhappy with the federal government's cleanup plan. The commission is charged with enforcing an international treaty ratified by the U.S. that protects basic human rights.
This is the commission's first hearing focused on access to clean drinking water, according to Eric Jantz with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center.
Other testimony will include farm workers from California and low-income communities from Michigan and Alabama. The commission will decide by next year whether to investigate the cases presented today further, which could involve site visits and future hearings.